This invention relates to telephone systems in general and, in particular, to automatic repertory dialers, telephone number outpulsers and credit cards equipped with active electronic circuitry.
The standard telephone equipped with a multifrequency (MF) key set is today being used for purposes far beyond that originally intended of allowing a calling telephone subscriber to key-in digits of a called telephone number. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,840, a special purpose calculator is acoustically coupled to the handset of a MF telephone and, by means of signals activated by keys on the device and by an internal stored program, is used to transact stock purchases, sales and the like with a distant computer.
As another example, the telephone industry proposes to use MF telephones in conjunction with telephone office innovations to automate many routine call handling operations that are currently performed by operators. Such arrangements are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,054,756, which issued Oct. 18, 1977 to Comella et al and 4,031,324, which issued on June 21, 1977 to Dudonis. These patents disclose improvements to a basic Traffic Service Position System (TSPS) telephone office, described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 3,484,560 to Jaeger, Jr., et al., to service automatically special calls such as coin, collect, person-to-person and credit calls. The subscriber making such a call is verbally instructed over the telephone by a computer at the TSPS office to enter digits, by means of the MF key set, describing the special type of call being placed and providing data required by the office for completing and billing the call. A subscriber placing a credit card call, for example, would be instructed by the computer at the appropriate time to transmit his credit card number to the computer by using the key set to key-in the digits of the number. The entire keying sequence for such a call would include two digits to identify the type of special call, a plurality of credit card number digits and 7 or 10 digits to identify the called subscriber. Such a lengthy and complicated keying sequence is highly subject to human error. A need therefore exists to simplify the operations to be performed by the subscriber, especially when the subscriber is away from his residence or office.
Automatic electronic outpulsing devices used to simplify keying sequences in certain cases are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,011,417, which issued to W. D. Warren on Mar. 8, 1977, discloses a desk telephone set equipped with keys and an internal microprocessor and memory for storing and outpulsing subscriber telephone numbers. The set, however, is not designed for carrying on the person, nor is the outpulsing circuitry adapted for ease in coupling to the telephone while in the field. The stock transaction calculator, described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,840, is easily coupled to a telephone handset by acoustic means, but it appears to be portable for field use only in the sense of being convenient to carry in a shoulder case or in an attache case, much like a camera.
Portable credit and identification cards having outputting electronic circuitry are also known. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,934,122, 3,859,634 and 3,934,122. These devices, however, are adapted for use only with special terminals and not for convenient field use with a telephone. Moreover, such devices use multiple circuits for generating output information and control functions. It is desirable to simplify this circuitry for use in small portable outputting devices.
A need therefore exists for a simplified device designed to be conveniently carried by a telephone subscriber for aiding the keying process of placing certain calls.